for ambitious_woman Back to Earth, 1750

[quitehomoerotic]

There's something about Earth.

Out of all the places out there, all the little planets in the sky, Earth just has something special. He wanted to go back, and he hated that he wanted to go back. He'd ran away from there for a reason; he couldn't cope with it any more. It wasn't like he was even born there, sure he spent over a hundred years there, kicking his heels, saving the place on countless occasions, but it shouldn't matter so much to him! But there he was, sitting on some dirty transporter, wondering about getting back.

He couldn't go back though. He couldn't go back to there and then and the people he left and the people that left him. He'd ran so far across that planet to get away from the things that hurt, but it was just too small. Impossibly small and those troubles were right behind him, peering down from him from above. Guilt weighing down on him that he just couldn't escape.

So he stayed away. He stayed away and kept quiet. Frequented corners of dingy bars and found solace in the bottom of a bottle.

But it wasn't what he wanted, and pretend as he might that he was okay with wallowing, he wasn't. He wanted to be doing something, anything, and that damn feeling that Earth was where he should be just wouldn't quite go away.

That's when he realised; he had only one option. Go back. But not now.

It's also when he realised that he had to fix what had been broken for over a hundred years. He had to get himself back in the game.

Out in space and with the resources on the various ships he'd found himself travelling on, it was surprisingly easy to happen upon the little components and tools he might need. He'd never found them on Earth, but then he never did have that sort of luck. It took a while, but he got there, bit by bit amassing what he needed until finally he could sit down and with care take apart his vortex manipulator and put it back together again with new and renewed working technology.

He could go anywhere.

But where? Earth, of course. But not a place he'd been, not a time he'd been. Somewhere new, but somewhere that would be enough to comfort him in knowing he was 'home'. So he didn't make a decision as such, he just put in some parameters to avoid (Cardiff being the biggest), and he pressed the button and hoped for the best.

When he arrived, without even needing to check he knew he was on Earth. It had that smell, that slight mix of something in the air that always seemed to be there, no matter where or when you were. Good, he thought, good. This was good. He didn't check when or where he was, that could come later. For now he'd explore (and he'd forgotten how nice that could be).

So that's what led him to walking around a vast (and likely very private) garden, lined with intricate designs of flowers and plants. French, he suspected. That was okay, he hadn't been to France in a long time.

Maybe he'd enjoy this.

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[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

At that she actually laughed. It sounded light and far away to her own ears.

"I would never direct you in a matter of taste. Especially when you are so sure of your own."

Her hands moved to smooth at her skirts again. She would have to change herself, soon.

"But I will direct my staff to set you a hot bath, should you wish to take one. Louis recently had actual plumbing installed, and it is very much the fashion. But the results thus far are uncertain at best."

She met his gaze again.

"I shall return soon?"

How long, she wondered, did this man require for his toilette?

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

The laugh made him smile. He appreciated that it was caused by him. Always something to appreciate.

"Then in that case," he grinned, "I'll surprise you."

He glanced back towards the bath and nodded. Really, this was quite the nice place to end up, of all the places he could have been.

"Oh I hope so," he said with a grin and a cheeky smirk. "After all, you'll need an escort to this party, right?"

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

His words, however politely intended, eroded at any of her laughter that lingered. He was right, of course. She --

No, she did not need an escort. Truthfully, she had been fully prepared to attend the night's festivities on her own. But she appreciated the idea of one.

And she could not like being indebted to a stranger. There was enough of that already.

"I shall eagerly anticipate the results of your efforts."

And with that, she briskly left the room.

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Interesting. He'd touched a nerve, he saw that clearly, but he couldn't possibly know how or where.

He'd remember that though, and perhaps it might be useful knowledge later.

As she left, he watched her, and didn't move until she was gone and he could no longer hear footsteps along the corridor. Then and only then did he turn his attention back to the closet and the clothes within.

He cleaned and changed and left his own clothes laid gently over the back of a chair before changing into one of the outfits. A coat of pale blue with golden brocade detailing. As he checked his reflection in a mirror, he had to agree... he looked good.

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

Through the years, Reinette had become quite proficient when it came to altering her appearance. There was the theater, of course. Costumes and changes and the delicately woven threads of fantasy.

But then there was the business of entertaining a king. It was her role to see him to bed each evening and greet him with a smile after mass each morning. And always, perfectly dressed.

Once she had marveled at the textures and the touch of the fabrics, how the felt moving over her skin. How her hair breathed after as evening held at bay. But some of that was lost, she could fully admit. She was more shopkeeper now.

Reinette tried to bring herself back, then. To enjoy the feel of the midnight blue silk as it settled over her body, her breath becoming shorter as her maid expertly worked the laces. A bolt of matching blue velvet paneled the bodice, the entire gown expertly worked with silver thread. Soon her hair was precisely coiffed, a single blonde lock working cutting across her shoulder.

After a brief knock, she reentered the dressing room.

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

Jack waited patiently for her return, and as she entered the room he turned on the heels of his finely polished shoes, facing her.

He smiled slightly, more than approving of the vision before him. She was beautiful before, yes, but here she was a vision. He could quite easily get intoxicated.

He stood now, head to toe dressed like a man that belonged. He'd even had one of her people bring him the appropriate headwear. A wig to cover his short and out of place hairstyle. The only thing that remained was the strap on his wrist, mostly concealed under the lace of his shirt and heavy sleeve of his coat.

Stepping forward, he dipped his head at her, and then a perfect mimic of the time (if a little tongue in cheek with it), he placed one hand behind his back and bowed to her slightly.

"Will I do?" he asked as he looked back up.

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

Her head inclined as well, fully aware of his own amusement there. If he searched closely enough, he would discover a light in her eyes that proved she held no objection to it.

Reinette stepped closer then, though she did not circle about him as before. She knew what the clothing looked like well enough, she had commissioned it after all. She was far more interested in the man before her.

He wore it well, the coat sitting perhaps sitting slightly tight about the shoulders. He was a man built to move she suspected, contradicting his story of sightseeing. But then, who actually spoke in truths?

The wig was something unexpected, and spoke to a certain industriousness and understanding. The results were not unpleasing, but at the same time they did not feel quite right.

"That you shall."

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

"Good," he said as the corners of his lips turned up into a half smile. "And you," he added, regarding her with an obvious approval. "Very nice."

Over the years Jack had been to many a party. Many a party in many an era. In the far future many planets and colonies attempt to imitate these great Earth eras. Extravagant clothing and music. There was that planet he spent a week on that had a whole city based on the eighties. Now that was a nightmare in and of itself.

But here, here the only imitation was himself, but he didn't let that fact bother him. He'd been out of place many a time in his life and his confidence (even false confidence) always got him by.

He took a step forward and offered out his arm to her.

"So, this party? Want to tell me what to expect? Because I think you and I both know I'm not from around these parts."

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

With precise intent, Reinette placed her arm over Jack's. [Jack, she repeated within her mind. And then again, softening its harsh lines with the French pronunciation. But no, that did not suit him.

Her mouth would simply have to become accustomed to it.

"Louis' daughter is celebrating her birthday this evening. She is recently returned to France from overseas. She was betrothed a quite a young age and only recently married her husband has passed away. She wished for the rooms we are standing in now, though I received them. She will find some what to make her displeasure known this evening, I am sure."

Reinette lead the way from her rooms down the tiled corridor and towards the more public spaces of the palace.

"You," she decided. "Will do quite well I think. With the men and women both. Somehow I do not imagine you will object."

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

Jack listened and nodded as they walked, absorbing the information and taking it in.

"Oh I'm sure you'll hold your own," he commented idly in response to the potential awkward situation she might face later. He had a feeling she knew just perfectly how to deal with that.

At her last comment his eyes brightened just a little, and his smile widened to match. He glanced down sideways at her and laughed gently in the back of his throat, "Now Jeanne-Antoinette you really are sharp, aren't you? 18th Century France and you don't even bat an eyelid. Something tells me you've got quite some stories to tell, am I right?"

As they passed people in corridors, Jack ignored them. He instead focused his attentions on Reinette beside him. Entirely.

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

Reinette felt his gaze brushed over her, and through she smiled in return she did not lift her eyes to meet his own. Instead her attention remained at some focused point in front of her.

"We have come to that word again. Interesting. And whatever stories I might have, surely they are best kept as my own." She is teasing him now, openly. Out of the corner of her eyes she catches some of the newer arrivals watching them.

"And in keeping them as my own, am I not -- in turn -- only more interesting?"

Her musing are light, and her voice modulated so it remains between them.

Finally she looks to her escort.

"Would you not agree?"

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

As she glanced up, Jack glanced away.

He looked over to a pair of people watching from across the corridor, and he leaned his head down and whispered close into Reinette's ear, "Oh you really are a clever woman, aren't you?"

Tricks of the trade, she had. A few of his own tricks there. Enigmatic in all the right ways. Knowing the ways just to get people interested enough but to only tease, to leave people wanting. It could be a delicate art form that few were masters of. He was, he knew that. It seemed maybe he'd met another.

"Then maybe," he said, still in a whisper, "I'll have to see if I can't coax a few out of you."

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

Reinette stilled.

Her footsteps, her hands. Even the tilt of her chin. She settled into the nothingness of it for a moment. There was something savory about it. She could taste it on her tongue.

From far away, she could hear someone laugh.

"You will coax them, you think."

Her hand reached up to the door just in front of them, tracing over the familiar paneling and elaborate paneling. Her fingers either warmed the wood. Or perhaps it chilled her own skin. It was difficult to say.

"I wonder how you believe you will do that."

That said, she pushed on the door, leading them into the ball.

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

"Oh I have my ways and means," Jack grinned confidently before straightening his back up and standing tall.

Head up and chin out he walked with her into the room full of people and elaborate finery.

"Hmm no expense spared here," he said, only half to her, half commenting aloud. He was rather out of his depth and an occasion like this. But that was okay, he liked being out of his depth.

"So," he said, inclining his head towards her just a little, "you with your arm on a strange man's. Going to set tongues wagging?"

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

Reinette surveyed the crush, her gaze flickering over the silk and satined throngs that made up the French court. They seemed to her to be comprised of parts, parts that rarely fit together in appealing ways. On occasion there was the line of an arm, or the arch of a neck that might captivate, but rarely did they connect into a fully realized whole that held her attention.

The few that did she counted as friend.

From the corner she caught the eye's of a friend, and with a nod for her escort she was sure she could hear his retort of laughter from across the room. She was sure Voltaire would present her with some cobbled together poetry the following day to mark the occasion. It was a mark of his own talent that it would not fail to captivate her. A pit the man lack any real social graces. And then, that addiction to gambling.

Then there was Louis. Even now she could feel her king's eyes working over them. He smiled, of course. Anything else would lead to speculation. He remained her dearest friend. Yet she still missed him. Reinette became aware of her fingers tracing over the lines of her stomacher. She forced the hand away.

Her eyes moved back to Jack's.

"Perhaps I shall. But it not a situation I am entirely unfamiliar with."

Like another evening, a mere six years before. It felt much further away. Reinette forced herself to smile, extended her hand in the heat that already washed through the overcrowded room.

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

"Oh I'm sure it isn't," Jack grinned. He didn't judge her though, he was impressed. Making people talk could be an acquired skill. And he had the feeling she knew all about acquired skills.

He watched the people in the room, took note of them and absorbed the information, but he didn't make to approach any of them. He wasn't interested. Why would he be when he had such an intriguing woman beside him?

"So tell me something about yourself," he said, gently prodding away at her from different angles, wondering what he might learn.

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

Reinette spared one final looked for Louis' latest choice. He had moved on from the young woman she initially chose to step into her role, and truthfully it was no less than she expected. He was hurt, perhaps even angry with her choice despite the obvious need for it. And so he chose not to be satisfied. Of course, most monarchs rarely were.

Her features were exotic, skin warm and eyes slanting. Though she wore it covered, Reinette knew her hair to be lush and dark. She wore her Spanish ancestry well.

She tilted her face towards Jack.

"I suppose I might better answer that question if you inform me what you have already discerned."

She was watching him, yes. But he was watching her as well.

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

Jack observed Reinette's gaze, and the woman on which her eyes settled. Just another piece of information to bank away. A piece of information that may or may not prove useful at some point, or at least inform his knowledge about this curious woman before him.

"Oh now that'd be telling, wouldn't it," he grinned at her.

Well there was his history, of course. The knowledge of which even if rusty told him a little about her. "I suppose though, I'm at an unfair advantage. After all, you're famous. I obviously already know things about you."

He took one step forward, closer. "But then those are just words and facts. No, I'm more interested in the details."

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

Reinette smiled in the face of his own. There seemed something inevitable about it. That there was simply no way in which she might meet his smile and not reciprocate. An occurrence she suspected he was well aware of.

"If you will not oblige, can you inform me a reason why I should then in turn 'tell' you. And have I even given you any reason to trust what I might say?"

She is teasing, to a certain point. Though Reinette was often one to utilize masks, to trade on her training and skills to dissemble? When she actually chose to speak to something true, that was not the games and manipulations of court, she preferred honesty.

Not that this was anything he knew.

There was a straining then, the sound of the orchestra beginning a waltz. It was a strange new dance, once merely a delicate section of a far more complex court dance. A moment for bodies to meet after the intricate give and take of steps, partners coming together then falling away. No one, it seemed, wished to work for their rewards anymore.

How like this court.

"But I shall offer you an opportunity to discover more. Dance with me."

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

His smile, as he looked at her, only grew wider. Wider with an undeniable twinkle in his eye. A cheeky twinkle, and a blatant one that entirely didn't fit in his surroundings.

"Well, I've got an honest face," he said, deadpan.

His face was certainly not honest, but somehow, so many times he had the ability to make people tell him things anything. It was a charm he'd cultivated over a century and a half of practise. Practise until it became just part of who he was, and part of what he did.

At the sound of the music he pricked his head up and looked around. A waltz, well, he could do that. He'd been quite the dancer in his time.

With a turn of his body and an outreached hand he smiled, "I thought you'd never ask."

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

Reinette tilted another smile towards him as they took their place on the dance floor. It was not overly crowded, as of yet. The dance required a certain grace not everyone had mastered. They did their inabilities behind a mask of disapproval.

His hand was warm, she thought. His fingers calloused, though it did not make the places where their skin touched unpleasant. He was not a stranger to work then.

Interesting.

"I was not aware that I asked."

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

Jack's hand slipped deftly around Reinette's waist. Not a tight hold, but a decisive one. He turned her hand gently in his own and it made it only too clear that he was the one leading. At least in the dance. And at least outwardly.

"Oh but you did," he said in little more than a whisper, head inclined in to speak it into her ear as though it were some great secret.

"So tell me," he said, continuing in the same tone, "all these people, do even half of them know how to have a little fun? I'm guessing not."

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

Reinette tilted her own mouth upward, bring it close to her partner's ear. Through the course of a turn she had to bring herself up in her toes to do so. She could feel the warmth of her own breath returning to her, taste how it was altered by his skin. Her hair brushed his cheek.

"Strange. That is not how I remember it at all."

The distance between them stretched again, into something more accepted. But not quite. She was not one to yield so much.

"I suppose that much depends on how you define your amusements."

[quitehomoerotic.livejournal.com]

Jack raised his eyebrow in mock surprise and whispered back, "Well maybe we better work on your memory."

He remained aware of his surroundings, of everything. The people that milled around, but mostly her. Her and the way the fabric of her skirts moved, the way her necklace shifted against her skin, and the way her hair ghosted across his skin.

"Oh," he said, with a slight nod a smile. "And how do you suppose I define mine?"

[ambitious-woman.livejournal.com]

Reinette lifted her gaze to meet his own, easily maintaining the connection despite the rise and fall of the music. Twice a couple lead by a distinctly uncoordinated rather portly courtier nearly caused her to collide with Jack. But through sheer force of will Reinette maintained the sliver of space that separated them. She did not believe in accidents.

"You define them the way a great many here would wish to for themselves, I imagine." Her mouth tilted slightly. She was well aware of the eyes that followed him. "Only somehow, I think, you might actually follow through."

And then her smile grew by degrees.

"That is something distinctly lacking here."